One of my favorite offseason pieces of content is ESPN’s positional ranking, as determined by their polling of NFL executives and coaches. Not because it means anything, but because it gives a general sense of how respected these players are within the league.
This year’s lists kicks with running back, and Detroit Lions’ running back Jahmyr Gibbs has clearly made it in the minds of those within the NFL. Gibbs finished second in the ranking, just behind draft-mate Bijan Robinson.
Before we get into
some of the things NFL insiders said about Gibbs, a note about their method. Per their article, they polled “more than 70 voters” who consisted of NFL coaches, executives, and scouts. Those voters gave their top-10 rankings at a position, and ESPN averaged it out.
Back to Gibbs.
First, it’s noteworthy that Gibbs jumped from three to two this year. One anonymous NFL coordinator argued that there may not be a more dangerous player when he has the ball.
“Your eyes tell you there’s no one like him with the ball in his hands,” they said. “He plays with better pace because of his vision, and then the gear is different. You see him blow by guys with angles. And he’s elite in the passing game.”
Another pointed to a statistic that I think gets overlooked a little. Since entering the league, Gibbs has 39 rushing touchdowns—ranking second among all NFL running back over that span.
“He’s got 39 [rushing] touchdowns in three years while splitting time. It’s crazy,” an NFC exec said.
It’s unclear how close Gibbs was to beating out Robinson for the top spot, but ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler certainly suggested it was close.
“Robinson edged Gibbs despite a tight vote,” Fowler wrote. “The Detroit runner registered nearly as many first-place votes, but Robinson won with an average rating of 1.78 in the composite voting.”
The lowest vote Gibbs received amongst all voters was eighth, while no one had Robinson lower than fourth.
Now that the Lions are preparing for Gibbs to be the bell-cow back, he could be in for a monster year and make a run for the 2027 top running back spot.
“He can run everything that we’ve got,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said this offseason. “He can run every scheme that anybody’s ever run. He’s not just an outside runner. He is not just a space runner. He can create his own space in the middle. And some of his biggest runs have been gap scheme right down the pipe where he’s had patience and found it and guys blocked it up well. So, we’re going to ask a lot of him.”
Other minor notes about the running back list: No other NFC North running back made the top-10, but Packers rushing Josh Jacobs received an honorable mention. Former Lions back D’Andre Swift—now Chicago Bear—also received votes.
